Love is a Chain Gang
by eien yurai
Summary: Juri's freshman year where she meets Ruka and reunites with Shiori.
1. I

My interpretation of what could have possibly happened if the Juri-Shiori-And Boy love triangle   
occurred simultaneously with Ruka around.   
  
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Love is a Chain Gang  
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"So, you think you're good with a sword?"   
  
It was Juri's freshman year in Junior High. She wasn't a people person. In a perfect world, she   
would have gone to a much smaller school, but Ohtori had the best fencing program in all of   
Japan. And fencing, well, fencing was Juri's life. She had begun in kindergarten, top of her   
class. Even that young, people had seen the talent in her. Her speed and agility matched her   
cunning and ruthlessness. She was the best. And she knew it.   
  
And some impudent blue-haired boy sure as hell wasn't going to tell her she wasn't.   
  
They were in the fencing gym, a vast building built specifically for that purpose. The kendo club   
was across the lawn, across from it. Being the first day, Juri had come early, the excitement   
was hardly contained even as stoic as she was. She was able to see the High School team   
practice and had been impressed with the strict regimen they worked through. She was all   
ready better than some of the older kids she'd seen. In a couple of years, when her skill   
improved (which it did, there never seemed to be any limits to it) she would be able to surpass   
all of them.   
  
The boy's indigo hair cascaded unto his long face, like a frozen waterfall, and yet didn't   
completely mask the dark blue sapphires that were his eyes. His wide mouth formed a very   
welcoming smile, crinkling up his eyes, which would have made him appear friendly, if it weren't   
for the predatory look in his eyes, and the fact that he was towering over her. He was in the   
fencing class with her, same group. Juri had been watching her sempai/teacher prepare for class   
when the boy showed up and promptly noticed her drooling over the swords.   
  
"Yes, I think I'm good with a sword. You?" Her golden curls flowed in front of her vision when   
she turned to answer him. She purposely made her question a challenge.   
  
"Oh, moderately." His smile became so wide it drew attention away from his eyes. Juri had   
never met anyone so sure of himself.   
  
"Are we all assembled?" Her sempai asked, facing Juri and the boy and the rest of the gathering   
freshman behind them.   
  
"Hai!" They all called out.   
  
"Good. My name is Kira Sestuna. I will be your captain for the Junior High fencing team.   
You're the freshman squad. All of you will be able to meet your older team members   
tomorrow. All right. I'm going to hand out fencing uniforms and helmets. When I call your   
name, please come forward. Sara Mudo!"   
  
"Hai!"   
  
"Kato Yue!"   
  
"Hai!"   
  
"Sakuya Mudo!"   
  
"Hai!"   
  
While the other freshmen were going up to get their uniforms, the blue-haired boy leaned in   
toward her and whispered, "I call tell by you're build that you're going to be good at this. Want   
to work together?" There was that smile again. Did he ever stop? She refrained from   
answering.   
  
"Tsuchiya Ruka!"  
  
"Hai!" The boy called out. He came forward and claimed his uniform, smiling and bowing to   
Kira-sempai, instantly loosing his haughty demeanor for a more polite and modest one. Juri   
marked him as manipulative; she'd had experience with boys like him.   
  
"Arisugawa Juri!"   
  
"Hai!" Her voice rang out strong and clear. As she approached the teacher he smiled down at   
her.   
  
"I've heard good things about you."   
  
Saying nothing, she gave him an extra bow and grabbed her uniform and went back into line.   
  
"How cold!" Ruka scolded her. "The least you could've done was say thank you."   
  
Her only reply was to straighten up, trying to appear as stiff as possible. Why was this annoying   
boy talking to her?   
  
"All right! Go to the locker rooms and change and come back here in five minutes." Kira   
sempai pointed down the hall to the changing rooms.   
  
As the fencers filed in the separate locker rooms, Juri noticed how the boys outnumbered the   
girls. Twenty kids in all, 13 boys, 7 girls. Strangely enough, Juri appreciated that. Girls made   
her uncomfortable. As the boys and the girls separated, Juri caught Ruka's eye and he winked   
at her. That made her so mad she nearly ran over a girl trying to get away from his line of   
eyesight. In the locker room, she carefully stayed away from the rest of the girls, avoiding eye   
contact. They tittered about how cute Kira-sempai was and how well he filled out his uniform   
(she scoffed at this). As Juri removed her school uniform, she silently complained to herself   
how short the skirts were. The boys were lucky they got to wear pants. She swore to herself   
that when she became an upperclassman, she'd get them to let her wear pants. When they had   
all finished changing, Juri realized how many of the girls had matured faster than her, filling out   
their uniforms in such a way that Kira-sempai would even appreciate. She blushed.   
  
Back in the main room, Kira-sempai ordered them to file into a single line and duel him one at a   
time so he could see their level of skill. One by one each freshman advanced and was defeated.   
Somehow, Ruka ended up behind Juri. "Ooh! Now I get to see how good you are." He   
leaned in so close to her she could feel his breath tickle her ear. "Don't let me down, Juri."   
  
Juri? They'd just met and he was all ready calling her Juri? She was going to turn around and   
tell him off when the teacher called- "Arisugawa!" Flustered and angry, Juri made her way to   
the sword rack and picked out a foil. Almost forgetting to put her helmet on, she made her way   
out to the teacher. "Begin!" He called out, and before she was ready, he charged.   
  
Juri parried easily, using the power of his own thrust to send him reeling away. Briefly, Juri   
floundered on whether to go defensive or immediately offence, but the presence of Ruka near   
her set her on offence. Launching herself at Kira-sempai, she put him under a flurry of attacks   
so vicious he was backing up into the line of freshmen. The scattered, making room for the   
fighting duo. Sempai constantly on defense, Juri analyzed his methods. Being a man, he was   
more acquainted with offence, and his defense was sluggish, like a machine not recently oiled.   
He was used to using power and not agility. She had the advantage. Her attacks, though not   
strong, where quick and in various areas, she was testing him for any obvious weaknesses.   
There! He didn't like to put weight on his left foot, often using an extra step to get his weight on   
his right. If she forced him to do that one more... On the edge of her vision, she saw Ruka's   
wide smile frozen on his face, watching her every move.   
  
It was too late when she noticed she had given Kira-sempai enough time to rally for a strong   
attack and to throw himself at her. Though it caught her by surprise, she managed to at least   
touch upon his sword before it hit and landed on her chest. Not enough time and force to   
deflect it.   
  
"Wonderful!" He cried out, taking his helmet off. "Magnificent offence. Please remember,   
however," he bent over and smiled at her. "To not give your opponent a chance to attack when   
using that technique. Next!"   
  
Ruka passed her as she went back into line. "Too bad." It took all her will not to jab the butt   
of her sword into his groin.   
  
Juri didn't intend to give Ruka the satisfaction of her watching him fight; she planned to stare out   
the windows, until she heard the crowd gasp. Turning around just the second before Kira-  
sempai did his little extra step to his right foot, she saw Ruka attack and claim victory. The   
freshman cheered and the upperclassmen, which had gathered on the balcony to watch,   
whooped. Filtering all the curse-words she knew through her head, she ground her teeth at   
Ruka's smiling face. She didn't bother to listen to Kira-sempai congratulate Ruka. Instead, she   
moved the back of the freshman and sulked.   
  
"Pair up!" Kira-sempai hollered. "And duel for the rest of the period. You're going to be with   
each other for a very long time, especially if you're good. Make new friends!" And with that,   
he sat down and drank from his water bottle.   
  
Juri glared at anyone who tried to pair up with her, many didn't even bother, but Ruka marched   
right past a girl giggling at him and straight up to Juri.   
  
"Good match, don't you think?"   
  
She put her helmet back on and assumed the fighting stance. He mimicked. "You haven't said   
a word to me except that one line." Other students began their own private matches around   
them. His eyes regained the predator like gaze. "I want to hear that lovely voice again."   
  
"Let's go." Juri made sure hatred wasn't seeping into her face.   
  
"Mmm, I like you're voice."   
  
"C'MON!"   
  
She came toward him like a bullet, straight and fast. Ruka was prepared however, and   
blocked. They were face to face, straining against each other, foils bending. "I was able to win   
that match because of watching you, you know," Ruka said, right before he attacked.   
  
Juri had gone beyond angry and back to cold and calculating, she let Ruka attack so she could   
test his strength while she blocked and parried, never giving anything away. She could still see   
the ever-present smile on his face even through the facemask. It grew wider until she thought it   
would wrap around his face. He was enjoying this. However, Ruka was rather miffed that his   
attacks weren't harrying her, why did she remain so calm? Fine, he'd just attack her more   
powerfully still. He yelled as he gave her a final thrust, hoping to go through her defenses.   
Instead, she stepped out of his path and let him blow past her. Just to be spiteful, she shoved   
him as he ran past, making him fall to the floor.   
  
Meanwhile, the whole class was done with their individual bouts, and stood and awe of the two   
of them. Kira-sempai eyed the duo.   
  
Before Ruka had a chance to recover, she flew at him, forcing him back up against one of the   
walls of the building. With nowhere left to back up to, he was left deflecting her slashes at full   
power. One of her thrusts was so strong that when he blocked it, it sent her sword veering into   
the wood of the wall, showering splinters down. He tried to get his sword back up in time but   
she was just too fast, and she stabbed him. Even through the uniform and with the practice   
sword, it was going to leave a small bruise.   
  
The whole building broke into applause. Kira-sempai was visibly impressed. The kendo club   
had finished early, and had come in time to watch the duel. A red haired kendo student smiled   
and said to his neighbor, "She's good."   
  
"She's a girl." His green-haired friend replied.   
  
Juri was left facing Ruka, refusing to remove her sword point from his chest. Both were   
breathing hard, sweat glistening behind the masks. He removed his first, revealing his face for   
the first time without that smile. "You're good. You're really good." But the smile was present   
in his voice.   
  
That was the only real fight in which Juri ever beat Ruka.   
  
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After showering in the gym (still keeping far away from the other girls, though they all gushed   
over her victory like squeezed tomatoes) Juri went to her other classes, following her program   
across the large labyrinthine campus. She knew she would excel, she always did, it was   
ingrained in her personality. The only interesting subject was philosophy, where the tiny   
professor lectured on phallic symbols, causing the whole class to burst into giggles. When the   
teacher discovered he actually had the attention of his students for the first time, it made him   
loosen up, and spill some dirty school secrets to the class. Apparently, there was a running gag   
among the faculty that the current Chairman's residence (a gigantic tower in the middle of   
campus) was built only to compensate for the ailing man's certain defects. Juri was the only girl   
in the girl in the class who actually got the joke.   
  
Finally released from an extremely dull math class in the north side of the university, Juri made   
her way back to the fencing building, traversing the many fountains that seemed to grow from   
the school grounds, hoping to get a glimpse of the seniors at practice. It was already dusk. To   
her disappointment, there was only a janitor cleaning up the floors in the gym. She leaned over   
the railing of the balcony, resting her weight on it, and sighed. At least she got to defeat that   
Ruka. All though, he didn't act defeated. He had said no more to her, only smiled at her   
benignly from across the room. Very disturbing.   
  
"Juri-san?" A very meek voice asked from behind her.   
  
She turned to see a very small girl, with short brown hair, looking up adoringly at her, eyes   
lighting up when Juri's met hers. "Shiori?"   
  
"You remember!" She piped, jumping up and down, causing her hair to bounce. "I'm so glad.   
It's been forever!"   
  
"Yeah," she replied, trying hard not to let her emotions show. Shiori had been her best friend in   
elementary school, the only person that she really enjoyed to be around.   
  
"That's all I get? A 'yeah'? C'mon, you must be glad to see me!"   
  
"I'm very glad to see you. I didn't know you were going here. When did that happen?"   
  
"Remember when I left school to go to my Dad in Osaka? We thought that since he was now   
in a wheel chair he would need help, so my mother sent me to live with him, but... he died just   
before this term started, so I got to come back." Shiori was looking at her feet, he hands   
against her chest, clasped together.   
  
"I'm sorry."   
  
"No, it's okay now. Because I at least get to be with Juri-san again!" She looked up, her eyes   
glowing with happiness.   
  
Juri contained the blush that was creeping into her face. "Would you like to come and see some   
of my fencing matches?"   
  
"Of course! I love to watch you duel! Do you think they would let me down onto the fencing   
floor if I don't do anything and just watch."   
  
"I'll make them let you."   
  
"Thank you, Juri." Silence ensued for a moment, and the two girls looked at each other. The   
bells tolled out from the Ohtori tower, beseeching the whole campus. "Ah! Freshman curfew   
time! I'll come watch your class tomorrow. I promise."   
  
"I'm glad."   
  
"Me too. Bye bye!" Shiori waved as she left the building.   
  
Juri slowly felt her hand respond, as if not of her own will. She quickly brought it down back to   
her side. Shiori. She could be with Shiori again.   
  
"Very cute and sweet." She could hear Ruka coming up behind her, pacing like a cat. She   
didn't bother to turn around and look at him. "I don't believe anyone is that sweet. Maybe   
she's faking it." He had come so close to her, she felt the heat emanating from him on her back.   
  
"Shut up. You know nothing about her."   
  
He sighed, ruffling her curls. "I suppose." Coming out from behind her, he glided into her field   
of vision. She had to bend back her neck to get a good view of his face. "But we live in the   
same dorm. We'll walk there together."   
  
Juri couldn't think of a good excuse and complied. Even though he was jerk, his sword skill   
was impressive. She wanted to duplicate and improve those techniques. Ruka walked with a   
spring in his step, very slightly, but it still told the world he knew something it didn't. His strange   
hairstyle bobbed up and down as they walked, as if pulled by some invisible string. Beginning   
to whistle a melancholy tune, he slowed the pace.   
  
They passed one of the many fountains. There was just enough of a breeze to send a little of the   
water and moisture into their direction. Water droplets gathered on his hair, like crystals from   
one of her mother's necklaces. A single drop dislodged itself to land on is cheek and make its   
way down his cheek, to drop off his chin and spatter on the pavement. Flipping his hair, he   
showered her with more little droplets, causing her curls to grow heavy and droop. Her   
attention was drawn to his breathing. Just barely uneven, and when he breathed in deep, there   
was rasp that should not have been there.   
  
"You're not well, are you?" She asked, looking him directly in the face.   
  
He turned to smile at her. "You can tell. I'm impressed. Most people don't notice." The   
whistling ensued.   
  
"What's wrong with you?"   
  
"Do you know why I like you?" He turned toward her, the smile slightly faded, making him   
seem a little more serious.   
  
"Don't dodge the subject."   
  
"I could tell from the way you stood that you were a great fencer. It's written all over you like   
scribbles. You leak it like some people leak sin." She didn't reply. "However, I was   
disappointed when we fought. I expected more from you. You haven't reached you're full   
potential yet."   
  
They'd reached the dorms. "Look-" she began.   
  
"I want to help you reach that full potential." He brought his face down to hers so his hair   
brushed her face, the smile gone. His breath smelled of strawberries. The pale color of his skin   
contrasted with his dark eyes, making him seem suddenly monstrous and alien, adding to the   
intensity of his expression. It seemed he didn't belong here, in the real world, like he was   
something too fragile to exist in it.   
  
If I touch you, would you disappear?  
  
He brought his lips to her ear, gently nudging the curls away with his nose, the strawberry   
scented breath warm and tingling on her skin. "I always wanted to find some one stronger than   
me." The heat from his mouth lay against her skin, a covering.   
  
Drawing back, the smile resurfaced. "Good night." Ruka turned on his heel and went into the   
separate dorm building for boys. Juri was left on the porch of her new sleeping place alone.   
  
She went in and discovered her new residence on the second floor. Apparently, they assigned   
new roommates. Juri's was a very quiet girl named Naomi, who wanted the lower bunk.   
Brushing her golden hair and her teeth before slipping into a pair of white pajamas, she found   
her bed soft and welcoming. She put her hand to her cheek where Ruka had brought his lips.   
It was still warm, and now she smelled liked strawberries.   
  
~Until next time~ 


	2. Need

In case I forgot to state in the first chapter, I don't own Utena. And I don't know a thing about fencing. Wish I did. And I must apologize for the length of this chapter.   
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Love is a Chain Gang  
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In the fencing gym locker room, Juri found she couldn't fit all her books in her locker. She ended up just stacking them on top and hoping no one would steal them. The fencing uniform was itchy; the full-length pale blue bodysuit under the leotard armor was too small for some one of her height. Being taller than any other girl in the class, and most of boys, Juri was intimidating enough to scare away practice partners out on the floor.   
  
Every class consisted of a warm up (stretching and simple thrusts) and then Kira-sempai teaching them a new technique which they all practiced in unison, with him strolling around them, pointing out mistakes. After, they formed duos and practiced on each other. At the end of the class, each student went up against Kira-sempai who would give them advice and tips. Juri constantly found herself paired up with Ruka. Every time groups were formed, the rest of the students left her alone, and Ruka, who avoided pairing up with others, was her only choice.   
  
On the second day, when he made his way over to her, he began to become friendly with her. Not physically, but Juri soon found him talking to her, almost constantly throughout the class. She only made short replies and quick questions, but he talked at length, sometimes on fencing, other times on the people around them, or his ideas.   
  
"Do you believe everyone around you is deserving?" He asked her once.   
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"I look at the people around me, and sometimes find them of such horrible countenance it makes me sick. Sara Mudo, over there, is a manipulative little crybaby, used to not having to deal with any actual problems. Kato Yue smokes pot right after this class, in the locker room. And yet they are each respected by the people around them, as if people are afraid to admit that some people might not be worth the space they take up."   
  
"That's harsh."   
  
"But how can you disagree with me? Everyone likes Kato Yue, even Kira-sempai's polite to him, but he isn't deserving of affection. He receives attention that would benefit some one of more importance and greater character. Like you, for example."   
  
"Me?"   
  
"Everyone's afraid of you, and they keep a distance. Kira-sempai is very careful around you, as if he's afraid to make you mad. I know you are avoided by the other girls your age, and yet you are superior to almost everyone here."   
  
"Even you?"   
  
He smiled. "Do you have any friends? Not going to answer me, are you? You are cold to everyone around you, but I see you with that other girl everyday after school. What makes her different from other people?"   
  
"She's not afraid of me."   
  
"Neither am I."   
  
Their practice bouts were never as serious as the first time. They practiced off each other, both utilizing the other's moves with their own technique. Ruka carefully evaluated her moves and still found her wanting, which he never hesitated in telling her. She told him his sword was too cocky. He took it as a compliment.   
  
Because Shiori could never make it to any of Juri's fencing classes, they instead ate lunch together after class. Everyone remarked on how such good friends they were. The amazing and untouchable Juri, the lioness, and the innocent and sweet Shiori, the lamb. It was no secret, that though she was avoided, Juri was close to worshipped by girls her own age and younger who envied Shiori. "It's not fair," they whispered. "How can Juri like Shiori? That girl's so plain and witless." However, none of these girls actually approached Juri. After school, Juri would often study by the fountain, not talking to any one unless Shiori could be found to communicate to. Ruka had his own life to contend with: a growing popularity among the girls, awe inspiring to the boys. He was usually invited to dorms by women and to play games with boys. He took advantage of all of it.   
  
"Do you ever wish you were me?" Ruka once asked Juri after practice.   
  
"What would I do with you're body? It's too slow."   
  
"How cruel. I could take you with me, you know. Doing normal teenager stuff. If you ever wanted to interact with me outside fencing."   
  
"Would you want me to?"   
  
Drawing closer to her, with a look of mock amazement, he said, "My my. I think we've actually become friends."   
  
The next day, Ruka was absent from school. When Kira-sempai asked them to pair up, Juri was left utterly alone. She was used being alone, but she was also used to having Ruka there. She stood still in the middle of the grouping freshman, everyone staring at her.   
  
"We do have an odd number today, so I'll pair up with somebody," Kira-sempai said. He began to walk over to Juri when a boy stopped him.   
  
"I'll be partners with Arisugawa-san. It's okay." The brown haired boy abandoned his other usual partner and came over to stand beside Juri. He was just barely taller than her, a single strand of unruly hair hanging in his green eyes. "You don't mind, do you?"   
  
"Not if you don't."   
  
"My name's Hideki Anou."   
  
"Arisugawa Juri."   
  
"I know."   
  
Hideki wasn't a master swordsman, but he held his own. He was friendly, but in a manner completely different from Ruka: it was not predatory. Hideki was pleasant and open, and did not tease her. It was nice having some one different to be with, even if he wasn't a match for her skill.   
  
After class, she continued to talk with Hideki. Shiori approached them quietly and introduced herself. "Ah!" Hideki exclaimed. "You're Shiori. The guys were right. You are very cute."   
  
"Oh, thank you," Shiori murmured, turning pink. Juri scoffed   
  
"Are you two going to the ball?" Both Juri and Shiori looked at him questioningly. "You don't know? It's in the Physics building tomorrow night. Full on Grande Ball. Everybody's going. I bet you both would look beautiful in dresses."   
  
Walking back to the dorms, Shiori asked Juri about the ball. "We could go. Everyone would love to see you in a gown."   
  
"I don't have one."   
  
"I have one for you. Come to my dorm and I'll show you. It'd look wonderful!"   
  
Shiori had a dorm room all to herself because of her late admittance. The sign on the door read Shiori in Hiragana with a little heart next to it. The room was covered in stuffed animals and anime posters of pretty bishoujo in short skirts backed by strong bishounen. Her closet was full of frills and ruffles that seemed to expand every time she removed an outfit, trying to find the one she wanted. "Dang! I know I have in here somewhere. It belonged to my mother, it's too big for me, but it would fit you like a glove. I want you to look elegant and adult, all the boys would go wild!"   
  
Juri glanced at the stuffed bunnies and bears that lined her bed, staring at her with beady eyes that flashed maliciously. In the middle, buried behind a giant Hello Kitty, there was a very small brown teddy bear. Picking it from the sea of fuzzy monsters, its velvet fur was sticky and dirty.   
  
"I found the dress." Juri turned around to see Shiori holding up an elegant white silk evening gown. It was long sleeved with a ruffled v-shaped neckline. The sleeves also ended in ruffled cuffs. "I see you found Bi-chan. Remember when you gave him to me?"   
  
"No, I don't."   
  
"I know you do. I was crying because Akira, the bully in the second grade, had told me I was ugly. You gave me this and told me you thought I was very pretty."   
  
"I remember. I stole it from the toy shop because I didn't have any money."   
  
"You were very brave." The smaller girl held up the dress to Juri. "I knew it was perfect. Do you like it?"   
  
"Yes, it's very beautiful."   
  
"You can't try it on now, if you stay here any longer you won't have time to get back to you dorm before curfew. Take it with you. I'll get a plastic bag." While Shiori went looking, Juri carefully replaced the little bear. "Here you go." It was a small Sanrio bag. "Now we have to go to the ball tomorrow. Meet me here at eight?"   
  
"All right."   
  
Juri moved to the door and put her hand on the knob. Small pale arms encircled her waist, tightening around her abdomen. Shiori's body pressed up against Juri's back with a ruffling of fabric. The bigger girl froze. Shiori's small head nuzzled up against Juri's neck, like a puppy. She hid her face in the golden girls and hugged Juri very tightly. Heat seemed to flow from the smaller body, trying to melt the larger one. "See you at eight. I'll look really pretty." Her voice was small even next to Juri's ear.   
  
"Okay," Juri replied weakly.   
  
-------------  
  
Ruka was back in fencing class the next day. "Were you worried about me?"   
  
"Where were you?"   
  
"Were you worried?" He repeated.   
  
"Can you still swordfight?"   
  
"Of course."   
  
"Then that's all I need to know."   
  
"You missed me, didn't you?"   
  
"Hurry up and fight me."   
  
Ruka was just a little slower than before, as if he was sore from an extreme work out the day before. Juri won easily. Ruka found himself lying on the floor of the gym, gasping for breath.   
  
"What's wrong with you?" Juri demanded, glaring down at him.   
  
He sighed and leaned his head back against the cold floor. "If I was to suddenly disappear, would you miss me?"   
  
"Don't ask silly questions."   
  
"I think you would." He began to get up.   
  
"Nobody else could fight me like you do."   
  
"True, true."   
  
"Arisugawa!" Kira-sempai called out. "Ruka was just in the hospital, go easy on him!"   
  
Ruka got up and assumed the fighting stance.   
  
"You could have told me about your sickness." She mimicked him.   
  
"Do you plan to go the ball tonight?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Yes? Do you have a date?"   
  
"None of your business."   
  
"I'll be there, in case you want one."   
  
--------------  
  
The bright lights of Ohtori drowned out the stars even after the sun had set two hours before. The whole campus lay in hibernation, waiting for the tolling of the bell to announce the beginning of the ball. Juri dawned the silk evening gown. It flowed easily over her supple body and dragged on the floor when she moved. A pair of earrings her father had given her when she was younger graced her ears and winked at her from beyond the mirror. Juri did look like an older woman, not young, but experienced. A little before eight she was called down to the center dorm office to accept a phone call. There was only one phone line allowed in the dorm and it was usually in the constant use of a certain girl on the upper floor with a boyfriend in America.   
  
The coldness of the receiver jolted her back into the immediate reality. "Juri-san?"   
  
"Shiori?"   
  
"You'll never guess the good news. I found a date!"   
  
Juri's nails bit into her palm. "That's wonderful."   
  
"I know! He's picking me up at eight. I'll see you at the ball, okay?"   
  
"Who is he?"   
  
"Saionji Kyouichi. He's here right now! Gotta go!" The line went dead.   
  
Juri robotically hung up the phone. The bells tolled telling all of the campus they were now welcome in the main ballroom in the physics hall. Girls danced out of their rooms to meet their dates waiting for them outside, the stairway was a continuous stream of color and jewelry for several minutes. She watched all this with moderate fascination for a few moments and eventually removed herself from the dorm building by way of the back door. By now the campus was drained of its students that had been sucked up by the ball.   
  
Finding herself a cool fountain to sit by, Juri breathed in the cold, misty air, arching her back to look at the gray sky. No, no stars at all. The coldness of wet marble of the fountain easily made it's way through the silk, causing her to shiver and close her eyes.   
  
The sound of footsteps came from her right. She turned to see a long legged older man stalking his way over towards her, his thin ponytail gently dancing from side to side. "Do you like the view?" His voice was incredibly deep, resonating down within the wide expanse of his chest.   
  
"There aren't any stars."   
  
"There will be later tonight, once the ball is over. And if there isn't any then, there might've been a better excuse for my planetarium than I thought."   
  
"Planetarium?" The older man had a dark completion that combated with his silver hair.   
  
"Yes. They're re-installing it the Ohtori tower currently."   
  
"Re-installing?"   
  
"There was another one, but it wasn't big enough. Are you planning to go to the ball?"   
  
"I don't believe so."   
  
"That's unfortunate. I, however, must attend. I'm making a guest appearance."   
  
"Good bye."   
  
"I'll see you around." The man slowly passed her, leaving behind him a faint scent of roses.   
  
Juri lay herself down on the edge of the fountain, being careful not to get her dress in the water. Shiori had a date. With a boy. There was no reason for Juri to go to the ball. She could stay here for the rest of the night and it wouldn't matter. Nothing mattered. Hah! She actually got herself all dressed up. What a stupid dolt she was. As if Shiori would really want to go the ball with her. Really. What a stupid fucking moron she was. Why would Shiori even like her any way? All she cared about was fencing, nothing else. Nothing else mattered. Except Shiori.   
  
"You're not crying, are you?"   
  
Juri jerked herself upwards to see Ruka staring at her with a perturbed expression. She quickly began wiping her face on her sleeve, hiding behind her mane of curls.   
  
"Didn't fancy you the type to cry." He sat down next to her, concerned. After she had finished with her sleeve, she still kept her head down, not looking up at him. Ruka figured she didn't want to respond. "I was looking all over for you at the ball. I expected to see you with an extremely hot date. When I didn't find you, I left my extremely hot date and decided to come and pester you. Now you're all unhappy and I can't annoy you. Damn. What happened? Did you get dumped?"   
  
"No." She said.   
  
"Ah! She speaks! But 'no'? You didn't have a date to begin with?"   
  
"No."   
  
"Then why are you out here?"   
  
"I have no one to go with."   
  
"Somehow, I find that extremely unlikely. Also, I don't think that's the reason you're upset. It must be something more than that. You won't tell me? Fine. But you must know, if you don't, I'll find out some other way and I'll do something drastic to rectify it. And I don't think you'll like my methods."   
  
"Why are you always around me?" She asked.   
  
He gave her a puzzled look. "Isn't it obvious? Because I like you." Then he smiled that smile, leaving his eyes to crease up and disappear into his dark eyelashes.   
  
"You only like me because of my ability with the sword."   
  
"I want to show you something," he said, standing up.   
  
"Huh?"   
  
"C'mon!" He grabbed her hand, pulling her up and along with him. For a moment he pulled Juri against him, his stiff suit rustling. "You're not afraid of me, are you?"   
  
She growled. "I'm not afraid of anything."   
  
"We'll see if you'll ever become afraid of me. In time." Juri found herself being pulled along by her arm, Ruka almost tearing it off at the pace he kept. They wound between fountains, foliage, and buildings, to the opposite side of the campus. Moonlight highlighted the dew on the grass and gleamed in Ruka's hair. When they reached a point on campus that Juri had never seen before, Ruka finally let up and stopped.   
  
Juri saw they had reached a porch of some kind overlooking a magnificent view of the city, which sparkled like raw diamonds in the night. Criss-crosses of marble grew from the terrace, overshadowing a small white bench.   
  
"Nobody comes to this side of the campus. It's too far off from the classrooms. These buildings are just storage. C'mon, let's sit down." Ruka lead her over to the bench. The wood was cool against her skin.   
  
They said nothing for a while, and just gazed at the city below. The headlights of cars traversed the main streets below, making rivers of light on a giant grid.   
  
"Have you ever been down there?" Ruka asked. "To the city?"   
  
"No."   
  
"I can't remember if I have. Sometimes it seems Ohtori is all there is in the world, all that ever was."   
  
"Do you like it that much here?"   
  
"Not particularly. Do you?"   
  
"No."   
  
"No, you don't like it here?"   
  
"No, I don't like it or hate it." Juri was here, why would she bother to wish she were somewhere else?  
  
"Why?"   
  
"Why what?"   
  
"You don't like it or hate it. Do you like anything? Do you hate anything? Do you love anything?" Ruka eyed her questioningly.   
  
"I enjoy fencing."   
  
"Why?"   
  
"You're asking too many questions."   
  
"Okay then. I'll tell you what I think." Ruka leaned in closer to her, his lips next to her ear; his breathe making her earring bob. "You like fencing because you like using your body. You like the way it feels to move fast and attack. You like it because you're good at it."   
  
"Is there anything wrong with that?"   
  
"I suppose not. But do you want to become the best at it?"   
  
"I am the best."   
  
"Have you forgotten that I beat you?" Juri turned to glare at him and found herself face to face with him, their noses brushing. Ruka's eyes were of a darker blue than his hair, black sapphires hidden under thick lashes. "I think you have the potential to become better than me." He kept his voice loud, choosing to ignore the proximity of her face. "But I don't understand what holds you back."   
  
Juri turned away to face the lights of the city and Ruka did the same. They said nothing for a while, each deciding to ignore the presence of the other. The lights twinkled below them, almost like a sea of stars. Juri briefly felt a moment of vertigo, as if the sky were below her and the ground above.   
  
"Would you ever open up to me?" Ruka asked, not turning to look at her.   
  
"Haven't I given you enough?"   
  
"No." He said it as if it were obvious, angry that she didn't know it.   
  
"Want do you want from me?" She asked.   
  
Ruka paused, and for a moment seemed unsure. He regained his composure and stiffened. "Why do you let me near you? Is it just because you're so indifferent to me it's too much of a bother to push me away. I'll go away if you want me to. I'll leave; I won't talk to you anymore. Is that what you want?"   
  
Juri's eyes glazed over. She couldn't understand why Ruka became emotional like this. She kept her voice level as she spoke: "You still haven't said what you want from me."   
  
Ruka turned to face her, and when she didn't respond, he took her chin and forced her to look him in the face. She complied merely because she didn't want to upset him more.   
  
"You. I want you. Can't you tell?"   
  
She stared at him, her feelings kept behind the mask of her face, his clear in the intensity of his eyes. A wave of indigo hair caressed her cheek. His grip softened on her chin and he brought a finger to her lips, gently brushing against them. His skin felt like velvet, gently pressing against her. Hesitating, his gaze drifted from her eyes to her mouth. His breath came faster, hot. Crinkles appeared on his forehead in concentration, as if to keep himself in check. Juri didn't lean forward or away. Ruka moved in closer, bringing his lips to hers.   
  
Did you honestly expect me to let you have me?   
  
"Stop".   
  
He froze, staying where his was, lips on the verge of touching, and moved away.   
  
"I'm going now," she said, her voice lacking any emotion. "Good night".   
  
Ruka avoided her gaze as she stood up. Juri wrapped her arms around herself as she walked away, trying to keep the coldness from the gnawing at her.   
  
"Don't forget that I admitted to it!" He called out after her, angry and alone. "I won't do it again! I won't try and get close to you again! Things will stay the same! But I want you to remember that I admitted to it!"   
  
Juri didn't look back.   
  
When Juri reached her dorm, she was welcomed at her door by a beset Shiori, eyes red with crying, her gloves wet with tears. When Juri had soothed her to the point of understandable speech, she learned the date had gone the way of the Roman Empire. The boy had spent the entire time fussing over his best friend, annoyed at the company of women the best friend had brought with him. Shiori had spent the evening ignored and lonely, wandering around looking for Juri and hiding in the corner.   
  
Juri kissed the tears away, cooing compliments of Shiori's prettiness into her ear. That night Juri expelled her roommate from the dorm, forcing her to (unlawfully) bunk with her boyfriend, and let Shiori spend the night in the lower bunk. Juri listened to Shiori's quiet breathing, in and out, until it lulled her to sleep. 


	3. You

It occurs to me this story revolves more around Juri and Ruka than Juri and Shiori. That must change. I apologize for the very lengthiness of this chapter. Making up for lost time.   
  
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Love is a Chain Gang  
  
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The day after the Grande Ball, after she had sent Shiori back to her dorm, Juri avoided Ruka before fencing class. Normally she would have met up with him earlier to practice, but decided against it. She wasn't afraid, just unsure how to act around him. Best stay away from him until she figured something out. Juri did not know how to approach Ruka. She was careful of his instability and his mysterious illness that seemed to crop up in random situations. Upsetting him might be harmful to his health.   
  
Ruka's gigantic smile greeted her when she entered the fencing gym. "Ah, Juri! I was wondering when you'd get here. And by the nasty bags under your eyes, I assume you didn't get much sleep. Is anything wrong?"   
  
She stared at him for a moment, perturbed by his hello and debating on questioning his sanity, but decided against it. "Good morning Ruka."   
  
They practiced as they usually did, Ruka winning, and then scolding Juri for her going easy on him. His pale face winked at her through the fencing mask, taunting and teasing until she almost threw off her sword to resort to her fists. When he saw her exasperation he changed tactics, immediately calming her down by pointing out and commenting on her sword technique.   
  
"You manage to be cold and calculating most of time, but ever so often, you loose your temper and strike out unthinkingly." She glared at him and he smiled back.   
  
He constantly insulted the talents of those around them, claiming they were not in the same class as Juri and him. They were together in their level. Juri shrugged it off, mentally wondering if that was true. She had always assumed there would be someone to learn from to improve herself, but what if it came to the point where there was no teacher, and she had to play the role of teacher and student?   
  
Ruka and Juri parted after class with Ruka extracting a promise from her to practice with him outside of the gym. Hideki came to her afterwards, in order to walk her to the next class. Juri thought nothing of it.   
  
"He manages you well." Hideki said, his personal foil flung over his shoulder.   
  
"Who?"   
  
"Ruka."   
  
For the first time in front of Hideki, for the first time in front of someone else besides Shiori, Juri laughed. A startled Hideki laughed nervously with her. Perhaps it was true, she thought. Or maybe they both kept each other in check.   
  
The days continued as they would, between fencing, class, Shiori, Hideki, and Ruka.   
  
Hideki had become her other fencing partner, and the two would come to the gym after their last class on Tuesdays and Fridays to practice. Shiori would come along and bring food and fresh towels, watching them fight with her emerald eyes. Lunges, jumps, twists, and blocks. Hikeki's level was increasing rapidly, trying to keep up with Juri's. But she always won, her skill too far above his. She was much faster and more maneuverable; trying out knew techniques she had dreamt of at night. She always managed to keep her temper under control around Hideki, who was always willing to be her practice puppet for her new moves before she tried them out on Ruka.   
  
One time after practice, while the sweat dried on Hideki and Juri's skin and Shiori served them her homemade lunch, Hideki asked how the two girls had met.   
  
Shiori smiled, dishing up the rice, and said, "Oh, we met in elementary school. A long time ago. I was really small, and the other kids kinda picked on me. And Juri decided to play the knight in shining armor, and promptly beat them all up."   
  
"Sounds like something you'd do," said Hideki, his mouth full of rice.   
  
After they parted with Hideki, Juri and Shiori wandered thru the vast lawns of Ohtori, the feeling of grass crushing beneath their feet. Shiori suggested they take off their shoes, and Juri complied.   
  
The grass was an intense emerald color, perfectly trimmed. Sometimes it amazed Juri how perfect the world of Ohtori seemed. The campus was always clean and the skies never cloudy. In fact, it hadn't rained once since she'd been there. Everything was provided for at the school. The cafeteria somehow managed to have every food she could ever desire, any class she wanted to take was available, and there always seemed enough room to do anything she pleased. There was never any practical reason to leave.   
  
"There you go again, drifting off into thought." Juri looked up from the green lawn to see a smiling Shiori, her hands behind her back. "What do you think about when you do that?"   
  
"Nothing."   
  
"Liar. I know that was an automated response. You don't have to do that with me."   
  
"I was just thinking this school seems very nice."   
  
"Yes, it is, isn't it? I couldn't imagine going to school anywhere else."   
  
"I suppose."   
  
Shiori smiled and poked Juri in the side with her shoe. "You always try to be so cold to everyone. You never give anything away. Don't you get tired of doing that?"   
  
Juri looked at Shiori, and responded by gently pushing her. Shiori's face burst into feigned shock. "And what gives you the audacity? How dare you?" And with that, Shiori launched herself into Juri, causing the two to fall over and roll on the grass, the smaller girl prodding the bigger one trying vainly to defend herself. Several students walking by stopped to stare. Eventually, after the tumbling ended, the girls lay in a pile of legs and arms, breathing heavily. Juri lay with her back on the grass, propped up on her elbows and Shiori rested her head in Juri's lap, both staring up at the sky.   
  
After a few moments, breathing returned to normal. "Hey," Shiori said. "What do you think of Hideki-san?"   
  
"He's an average fencer."   
  
"Yeah, I know. But what do you really think of him?"   
  
Juri gave herself a moment to think. "He's nice."   
  
"He is, isn't he?"   
  
A flock of white birds swung low in the sky, causing small dark shadows to dance across the lawn.   
  
"Why do you ask?"   
  
"I think he likes you."   
  
Juri's eyes fell from the sky to Shiori, and then back up again. "Maybe."   
  
"I mean, he fences with you all the time and always tries to walk you to class."   
  
"What's wrong with that? You also spend a lot of time with him and I fence with Ruka, too."   
  
"Well, I've never met the mysterious Ruka. Do you plan on ever introducing me to him?"   
  
Juri let loose her elbows and fell back completely on the grass, her hair a golden halo against the green. "No."   
  
"Why not?"   
  
"No. Just no."   
  
Shiori shifted her position and laid down next the bigger girl, turning her head to gaze at her face. "Okay. But I still say the Hideki-san likes you."   
  
Juri said nothing.   
  
After the night of the Grande Ball, Ruka and Juri had taken up sparring at the bench over looking the city. It was a wide, open space and the air always managed to be fresh and clean despite the smog rising up from between the skyscrapers. Sometimes, the light from the sun appeared to set fire to city below, so the view seemed to look out over a field of diamonds glittering in the sunshine. Other times, the city disappeared underneath the haze of smog and Ruka and Juri found themselves fencing on a shore of a huge gray ocean.   
  
Today, the pollution of the city had a blue tinge to it, and as the sun set and the lights of the buildings were turned on, the view was transformed to that of a clean sapphire ocean with rays of light glittering on the waves.   
  
Ruka, with his foil aiming for her heart, launched himself at Juri.   
  
Juri, with a passing block from her sword knocking him off balance, spun out of his way. While Ruka was trying to recover Juri chased after him. After a quick glance backwards to note the orange haired girl was coming after him, Ruka made the knightly decision to run away. Juri chased him all the way down the porch under the arches of marble until he ran directly towards one of foundations of stone. Thinking she would be able to corner him, Juri prepared herself for one final thrust while Ruka neared the column of marble. Instead of stopping dead against the pillar and turning it around to use it for support, Ruka ran up the pillar, and, with his back arching and muscles straining, back flipped over her. Juri found herself crashing into the solid stone with the extra prick of Ruka's foil against her back.   
  
She slumped to the ground gasping for breath and pressing her hand to her forehead. It occurred to her that practicing with Ruka without her helmet was a bad idea. "How the hell did you do that?" she said between huffs.   
  
Ruka smiled down at her, careful to keep his breathing under control so she wouldn't notice how much stress it put him under. "I don't know. I've never done that before."   
  
Juri had regained her composure and managed not to swear. "Liar."   
  
"Are you accusing me of lying? My, my. I swear to you I've never preformed that maneuver before today."   
  
"So I take it you were practicing it this morning."   
  
Ruka smiled while he sat down next to her. "It was pretty cool, wasn't it?"   
  
She didn't answer him. After a moment, she asked, "What time is it?"   
  
"I don't have a watch. Why?"   
  
"I'm supposed to have dinner with Shiori and Hideki at seven."   
  
"Ah." The light from the dying sun and the vision of the city slowly disappeared underneath the smog. "When I first met you, I would not have placed you with friends. My analysis is usually accurate. Perhaps you have changed?"   
  
"Perhaps."   
  
"I think you have. You are much easier to be with, now. Not that I like you better this way."   
  
"You don't? Didn't you try once to get me to come with you to parties?"   
  
"Yes, but then you would have been with me. I don't like to share. I'd much rather have you all to myself."   
  
Juri said nothing as the pollution slowly dissipated among the buildings leaving the lights of the city revealed thru its absence. "And if you can't have me all to yourself?" she questioned.   
  
Ruka sighed and looked up at the marble terraces above him. "Well, then I suppose I'd just have to settle for you be happy and free of anyone else. Let's go. I'm sure it's almost seven." He stood up and stretched, his lean frame reaching up to the sky. He offered Juri his hand when he was done to help her up. She took it and stood up next to him.   
  
As the two were walking towards the gym to change they counted the bruises they had acquired over the past week.   
  
"Are you happy?" Ruka asked abruptly.   
  
"I don't know."   
  
"I think you just might be," he smiled down at her. "For the first time in your life."   
  
After changing from her fencing uniform to her school uniform, she received one final wink from Ruka, all dressed to go out to one of his parties, and went to meet Shiori and Hideki.   
  
They ate at one of the nicer cafeterias that dotted the campus and talked as the lights of Ohtori turned on and drowned out the stars.   
  
Conversations with Shiori and Hideki were always pleasant and calming, without the tension Ruka brought in. Juri was comfortable around Shiori and slowly that comfortableness had grown to include Hideki. He was nice, and not at all like Ruka.   
  
When the conversation at the dinner table had dissolved into fencing, which it inevitably did, leaving Shiori out, she had playfully flicked a pea in Juri's direction with her spoon. Unsure of how to respond at first, Juri did nothing and merely stared at Shiori, who assumed a guilty look. Hideki, finding Juri's expression funny, bust out laughing. Juri and Shiori immediately assumed their spoons and launched more peas at him. After hiding under the table, dodging the fleet of flying mini-vegetables, Hideki grabbed each of the girls by the waist and lifted them up out of their chairs, Shiori squirming and squawking and Juri calmly complying, wondering what he was going to do.   
  
Hideki dragged the two girls to the edge of a large fountain and dumped them into the cool blue water.   
  
Shiori thrashed in the water, trying to regain her balance and failing to do so, fell back into the water several times. Juri sat still in the water, staring up at Hideki's grinning face.   
  
"Are you just gonna sit there?" Shiori burbled, water she had accidentally swallowed gushing out of her mouth. "Get up and get him Juri!"   
  
Juri eagerly complied.   
  
Hideki found himself lifted up over the big girls shoulder and thrown butt first into the fountain, drenching both girls with the splash. Shiori was giggling so hard she could not stand and simply pointed at him. Hideki was laughing and trying not to swallow any water that was sloshing around in the fountain.   
  
The fountain was large and circular, surrounded by a low ring of white marble keeping the water in. A stone satyr danced in the center, water jumping from his flute. The figure was primal and devilish with a wicked grin on his face. The sculptor had gone so far as to include the wrinkles created by the large, fang filled smile. Not unlike Ruka's smile.   
  
A wet Shiori grabbed Juri by the arm while she was studying the mythical form, and pulled her back into the water. The three splashed each other, droplets of water reaching high up to the sky, the satyr becoming encased a cocoon of wetness. Juri tried hard to hide her smile, but gave up and tried not to gulp down any fountain water. Hideki's hair was plastered to his head, the single strand of long brown hair sticking to his face like wet paper. Shiori's school uniform was completely soaked and clung to her supple form describing details other wise left to the imagination. Juri averted her eyes when she thought of it.   
  
Eventually, a teacher walking by, heading for the cafeteria with an evening meal in mind, spotted the three and hauled them out, getting sufficiently damp herself. The old spinster, with her hair pulled back into a rigid bun and her nails digging into Juri skin, dragged them into the Chairman's office lobby and sat them down while lecturing them on respecting school property. She had all their names on a sheet of paper and handed it to the Chairman beyond his office door.   
  
Shiori, Ruka, and Juri sat on the uncomfortable chairs for over an hour, waiting to be called into the office. They said nothing, for his secretary was eyeing them over her in-box. Juri choose not to think. Don't think of getting expelled. Don't think of getting Shiori or Hideki in trouble. Don't think of loosing fencing privileges. Don't think. Don't think at all.   
  
Shiori smiled at her over Hideki's shoulder. She winked and whispered, "Well, it was fun."   
  
At least Juri would get expelled with Shiori.   
  
The phone at the secretary's desk rang, breaking Juri's reverie. The secretary picked up in annoyance. "Yes. Yes. Really? Oh. I see. Yes sir." She put down the phone and said to them. "You may go."   
  
There was a pause while the three digested this. "We can go?"   
  
"Yes. It's almost past curfew, isn't it? Get going."   
  
"We don't get punished?" Hideki asked.   
  
She sighed in annoyance, ruffling the papers on her desk. "Apparently the fencing Captain-in-Training believes you-" here she stared pointedly at Juri "-should be given certain considerations because of your talent. And anybody with you should be given the same. Now get going."   
  
"Fencing Captain-in-Training?" Shiori questioned Juri quietly as they left the room.   
  
"Yes," replied the secretary from her desk. "Tsuchiya Ruka."   
  
Juri froze in the doorway. "Ruka?"   
  
"Yes," said the woman in exasperation.   
  
Juri shut the door behind her while Hideki danced happily in the hallway. "You know, for a moment there I was actually worried. Thank God for you and Ruka. I didn't know he was next in line for the captaincy, did you?"   
  
"No. No I didn't know."   
  
The three split up quickly after leaving the building, rushing off to their different dorms attempting to make curfew. Juri jogged back to her room, once again trying not to think. She had never told anyone of her aspirations of being captain. Juri ran up the stairs of her dorm. She had kept it quiet, not wanting to make anyone to be angry with her audacity. She had said nothing. She was too sure of herself as it was: she was good enough to be the captain, so naturally she would gain the title. She would be a good leader. Why the fuck would Ruka get it instead of her? She slammed the door of her room. Did that mean he was better than she was?   
  
Why the hell hadn't he told her?  
  
Juri did not arrive early for fencing class the next day. Instead, for the first time that year, she arrived late. The locker room was devoid of life except for the sewer rat that lived in the showers. The other fencers watched curiously as she joined the ranks watching Kira-sempai illustrate a new move. Ruka smiled at her over the shoulder of Kato. She didn't respond.   
  
Later on, when the class paired up, Ruka began his march over to her, but instead she moved over to Hideki. Hideki tried hard not to show his surprise and tried much harder not to smirk at Ruka. Ruka ignored the pleadings of Sara to spare with him as he watched the two spar.   
  
After class, Juri still kept away from Ruka. All though he had made several attempts during the sparing to talk to her, she had balked all his advances, and he had given up by the end of the class. Juri avoided letting Hideki walk her to her next period.   
  
That night Juri visited Shiori in her stuffed animal jungle of a room. She had earl gray tea prepared in a rouge teapot issuing steam from its spout. Juri sipped the tea and it felt nice in her stomach.   
  
"What's wrong?" Shiori asked.   
  
"Nothing's wrong."   
  
"You are a very bad liar, Juri-san." She sat down next to the bigger girl, wrapping her hands around her mug. "Ever since we were little you liked to pretend that nothing bothered you. And, believe me, you can go on pretending that with any one you want, but you will not do it with me. Now, tell me what's wrong."   
  
It took awhile for Juri to formulate her anger into a sentence. "A friend-" She stumbled over that word, realizing who she had just applied it to "-kept something from me. I don't like it."   
  
"Hmm..." Shiori breathed into her tea. "A friend, huh? Do you keep stuff from this friend?"   
  
"Yes. No. Some things."   
  
"Well, that's not exactly fair. 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone' and such. Did you have a fight?"   
  
"Not really."   
  
"You're refusing to talk with that person, aren't you? How very predictable of you, Juri-san."   
  
She said nothing.   
  
"That won't get you anywhere, you know. Has that person tried to talk to you?"   
  
Still no response.   
  
"You are very bad at confrontations. I leave it up to you as to how to handle it. I'm awful at confrontations, too." Shiori smiled weakly. "I'm always afraid to admit my real feelings. It scares me. But, I always tell myself to believe."   
  
"Believe in what?"   
  
Shiori looked up the ceiling, devoid of posters unlike the walls. Sparse like the wall of Juri's room. "Believe in miracles, and they will know your true feelings." She turned to Juri. "Do you believe in miracles?"   
  
Pondering for a moment, she said "If a person wants it enough, or deserves it, maybe they'll get one."   
  
"I hope I deserve one. I hope I get my miracle."   
  
Juri didn't ask what the miracle was for.   
  
They talked of school and the nasty report they had to do on women's roles in movies before 1940. The teakettle was slowly drained until the only thing left was a few leaves left over by the tea bag.   
  
"This year's ending soon," Shiori said wistfully.   
  
"Yes. It's been fun."   
  
"I'm going away over the summer. To Osaka. Want to come?"   
  
"I can't." Juri thought back to her parents, of her mother and father on an everlasting trip in Spain, far away from her. "I'm staying here for the summer."   
  
"I'll miss you."   
  
"I'll miss you too."   
  
"We'll always be friends, right?"   
  
Juri set her mug on the desk. "Of course."   
  
That night Juri was in her room working on her lit paper on the symbolism of roses in French Literature. Her concentration had left her by midnight and she found herself typing and retyping the same sentence over and over, the clacking from the keyboard driving her mad.   
  
Noises from the room next to hers drifted through the walls. At first talking, maybe flirting, gentle and seductive, which was ignorable; she heard that all over campus. The sounds gradually changed from low hushed voices to heavy breathing. Then worse.   
  
The bed in the next room made a horrible thwacking noise as it was pumped into the wall again and again. Moans and sighs of pleasure eventually joined in to the quickening beat. Juri sat against her own bed, refusing to cover her hands with her ears. Instead she wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her face in her knees. Finally the cries of ecstasy climaxed and echoes vibrated throughout the walls. Silence dawned in the room. Unfolding from her up right fetal position, she walked to her desk to stare at her unfinished paper.   
  
The rose is most often used as a metaphor for beauty and pain or the union of male and female: the vaginal flower and the phallic thorns protruding from the stem.   
  
She wanted to rip the paper up and throw the pieces about the room. To drag her nails across the person's back and draw blood. Who's back? Who do you want Juri? Can't you even admit it to yourself?   
  
Someone knocked on her door. Not remembering that she was wearing her orange nightgown, she opened the door, remembering to hide the emotion from her face.   
  
Ruka stood in the doorway.   
  
His uniform was ruffled and his jacket was open, buttons staring at her like eyes, displaying his creamy chest that bore no undershirt. Juri could almost trace a line of downy hair from the center of his chest, down his abdomen, to disappear into his pants. His cheeks were inflamed with heat and his hair glistened with sweat. Saphirre eyes were half-closed, tired from exertion. Leaning against the doorway, limbs slack, his wide mouth open, still trying for more oxygen and expelling alcoholic breath.   
  
"I've heard you've been a bad girl and got sent to the principal's office." His voice seemed deeper, huskier, and very relaxed.   
  
Juri found that she remembered the name of the girl living in the next room over. "How was Naoko?"   
  
"Whew," he breathed, wiping his brow with a well-manicured hand. His voice was amazingly un-slurred for being drunk. "That girl is a cat in the sack. I really wish she would trim her fingernails. Look what she does to me." With that, he turned his back to Juri and took off his jacket, revealing more pale skin. His back was laced with think red marks tearing through him. "See? What a tigress! But I have to admit, I do love a women like that."   
  
She stared at his back. And slowly, Juri reached out and touched the thin crimson lines, hot against her fingers. Ruka stiffened at the un-beckoned touch, nervous at this strange physical contact. She placed her palms against his shoulder blades and pressed against them, feeling the bone under the flesh sheath. Forgetting for the moment that she was angry with him, reveling in her proximity, he relaxed against her, his spinal chord visibly retracting through his skin. He was like a see through-ghost, like he was made with cellophane. Was it from the sickness?   
  
She brought her hands down his back, never loosing contact with him, feeling the sweat roll under her fingers, the movement of his muscles, the flush of sex still clinging to him. When she reached his waist she put her hands upon his sides, riding his hipbones. He breathed in and she could feel his rib cage expanding to accommodate the big gulp of air.   
  
She swiftly dug her nails into his sides and tore.   
  
He gasped and writhed against her, grabbing the top of the doorway with his hands and straining to keep from yelling. Juri grabbed the door and smashed it into him, knocking Ruka out of the doorway. Juri shut the door and leaned against it, listening to the sounds of Ruka recovering in the hallway.   
  
"God damn it Juri!" She felt him punch the door with his fist and then curse himself for doing so. There was a pause where he calmed himself down. It didn't take too long. "You really are quite the tease. For a second there, you all most had me believing you wanted to fuck me. Silly me, being taken in so easily." The ruffling of fabric betrayed the fact he had replaced his jacket. "You should be pleased with me being the Captain-in-Training. I'll give you the attention you need. I could make you the Captain-in-Training and we'll win every tournament we enter. I'll only take on the brilliant fencers, like you, and maybe a few innocent and teachable girls, and..." He waited for her response.   
  
She said nothing, like she always did.   
  
He sighed loudly enough she could hear it through the door. "I'm tired of this, aren't you? I'm tired of fighting with you. Why are you so testy all the time? Do I just instill you with rage that easily? Do you hate me?"   
  
He waited again for her to say something. She did not.   
  
"I'm sorry! Okay? Is that what you want? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I should have told you. I didn't. Juri." She felt the pressure of him against the door. "Juri," he breathed.   
  
The both slid down on opposite sides of the wooden door to rest on the floor against it. Juri fought the instinct to fold into herself again while Ruka held his burning sides.   
  
"How many girls do you sleep with?"   
  
There was a pause while Ruka considered the question. "I don't know. How ever many I want to. My, that does sound egotistical, doesn't it?" he laughed. "Sex can be exhilarating and great exercise. You should try it. I've slept with a few men, too," he added.   
  
Juri stiffened against the door.   
  
"But I like women. They're different. I like it when they fawn over me and tell me they love me. You have no idea how gratifying it is to have a girl throw herself at you. And you know just how much you want to catch them before they fall."   
  
It felt like the alcohol buzz was slowly fading away, receding into the night, like Juri's anger and Ruka's pain.   
  
Ruka reached up for the doorknob and twisted it. He slowly opened it, making sure he didn't push Juri in any way, and slipped inside the room. He found her laying against the wall now, looking up at him with dead, emotionless eyes. Sitting down next to her, he was careful not to touch her. They said nothing for a while.   
  
Juri turned to look at him, his hair still mussed from sex and sides still bloody from her. He stared back at her, for once without that ridiculous smile on his face.   
  
I don't understand you at all.   
  
The smile magically glided onto his face, eyes crinkling up into dark eyelashes: "I only fence with you."   
  
"Are we on tomorrow, then?"   
  
"Of course we are. And I expect you to be very good. You've gotten a lot of anger out tonight and I don't want you loosing your head in a fight. Did I mention I like your night gown?"   
  
"Get out."   
  
"I never stay beyond my welcome."  
  
_______________________________________________________________  
  
Yes! Yes! Finally got to write that scene!   
  
One thing I've tried to do in this story is to keep the descriptions to a bare minimum as to let the characters absorb all the reader's attention. That really doesn't work, the whole story seems rather bland. Expect more flowery words next update. 


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